Contact lenses are widely used. However, placing and removing a contact lens from a human eyeball usually requires some training. A main challenge using contact lenses is to avoid eye infections due to bacterial or virus contamination of the contact lenses, for example from contact with fingers when manually placing or removing contact lenses. Disposable lenses are common which may reduce the contamination risk and lenses intended for reuse are usually stored in a storage box with disinfection fluids disinfecting the lenses in the periods between use. Another more technical challenge for users may arise when the contact lenses are soft contact lenses, which may be more difficult to handle than a rigid body of a contact lens.
However, the potential risk of infectious contamination of contact lenses is high when removing a contact lens, either a disposable lens or an ordinary contact lens, from the storage box and applying a lens onto the eyeball surface. Any contact between fingers and the contact lens body provides a risk of contamination of the lens body.
In prior art there are examples of devices that help a user when manipulating a contact lens into contact with an eyeball, and when removing the contact lens from the eyeball.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,345 A discloses a device handling soft contact lenses comprising a pair of resilient pincer arms, each arm having one end mutually interconnected and a free end spaced apart from the other free end. A lens cup is attached to the interconnected arm ends and is shaped for receiving and holding a soft contact lens. The free end of each pincer arm includes a connected soft tip, which extends outwardly therefrom, and is constructed of a resilient, flexible material, and has a terminal surface shaped for frictionally engaging an outer surface of a soft contact lens. The arms are interconnected for positioning the tips on opposing sides of the lens when the soft contact lens is positioned on the eye of a wearer, whereby convergence of the arms folds the lens between the tips for removal of the lens from the eye.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,414 A discloses a device for the insertion and removal of soft contact lenses comprising a bifurcated member having a pair of flexible arms extending from the main body and contact lens gripping surfaces attached to the ends of each of the flexible arms. The angular tips are constructed and shaped at the precise angle necessary so that, when placed against a contact lens, the lens may be flexed and removed from the eyeball, or, inversely, easily placed on the eyeball.
WO 9304648 A1 discloses an applicator (10) which is useful for placing a contact lens (18) on an eye of a wearer. The applicator (10) comprises an elongate hollow body (11) open at both ends (15, 16). The inner surface of the body (11) defines a concave surface (17) adapted to receive the lens (18) at one end (15) and a bore (13) which extends from the concave surface (17) to the other end (16). A plunger (12) is received in the bore (13) from the other end (16). Movement of the plunger (12) towards the concave surface (17) propels a contact lens (18) from the concave surface (17) onto the eyeball.
Prior art discloses tools with respect to the action of removing a soft contact lens and the action of placing a soft contact lens on the eye of a user. Even though this may be functional stand-alone units, it would be beneficial to have a common tool, or common tool assembly, improving an easy secure and sterile removal and placement of soft contact lenses.
The eye is largely shaped as a ball and has consequently a convex shape. When placing a contact lens onto an eye it is required that the contact lens substantially follows the contour of the cornea. The forces holding a lens in its proper location on the cornea are the suction forces created between the cornea and the inside of the contact lens, i.e. the concave surface of the contact lens. When removing a contact lens it is necessary to overcome this suction effect and this may be accomplished by removing the suctioning action between the contact lens and the cornea by introducing air between these two elements. For soft contact lenses this may be achieved by making a crease in the contact lens to introduce air between the contact lens and the cornea and thus to even out the pressure between the ambient air and the space between the cornea and the inside surface of the contact lens.
On account of this situation it is required that a contact lens is placed with its concave surface facing the cornea, and this requires that a tool placing the contact lens onto the eye introduces the contact lens to the cornea with its concave surface facing the cornea end its convex surface facing outwards. Based on this requirement, the orientation of the contact lens when collected from its resting position in its holder (when not in use) is of importance. If the contact lens is located in its holder with its convex surface facing upwards (towards the user), the applicator part of the device according to the invention may be used directly for collecting the contact lens and placing it onto the eye. Oppositely, when the contact lens is located in its holder with its concave surface facing upwards, it is required that an intermediate part of an applicator is used for bringing the contact lens with its concave surface facing the eye when applied on the applicator.